We have known County Assessor Tom Kidwell for more than 20 years. He takes his job very seriously, and has worked his way from the bottom to the top in the Assessor’s Office. Tom is a very hard worker and always has his door open.

Tom is the best qualified by far to be Madera County assessor. So join us in voting for Tom Kidwell, assessor for Madera County.

John and Cindy Diaz,
Madera

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

Here is something I would be a little worried about, if it affected me: Someday, someone may be able to listen at will to virtually every Wi-Fi data movement in the world. That would include monitoring conversations, e-mails and Internet use.

The reason this worries me is that it already has happened. It seems the StreetView vans sent around the country by Google to map the streets with cameras and identify Wi-Fi hot spots (high traffic, lots of connections), was actually vacuuming up all the transmissions that went on at each of these hot spots.

And it was a mistake.

“We are profoundly sorry for this error and are determined to learn all the lessons we can from our mistake,” a Goggle exec told The Wall Street Journal.

Let’s assume the Google boss is sincere and telling the truth. But if he is, the one incredible fact about all this is that Google did it by mistake. What if Google or anybody else wanted to do it on purpose? That kind of spying — listening to what individuals say or write when they think they are saying it in private — is one of the favorite tools of totalitarianism. The Nazis and Communists loved to do that. Think what they would have done with this technology.

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated,” says the 4th Amendment to the Constitution.

Let’s see. How many times did Google violate the Constitution in their mapping expeditions? Once, twice, 10,000 times? Who can ever know?

In California, that kind of eavesdropping is a crime. How many times did Google violate California law?

Google, to its credit, came clean. But if Google can figure out how to do this, so can someone else — on purpose.

I find this very troubling.

Several weeks ago I wrote a letter stating what kind of man I would support for Supervisor District. 2. It was and is my opinion that I wanted someone who was not a politician, just plain old common folk like you and I. Someone who doesn’t talk out of both sides of their mouth. Someone who is not owing to the big fat cats.

Based on what we see happening in Washington, when big money is spent to elect someone, it is generally because they want some consideration in the future. So it makes me a little suspicious when I see a developer contributing a relatively large amount to a candidate. Is it because he really believes in the man or does he expect a favorable vote in the future? I don’t know the answer, it just makes me wonder especially since that developer is not from Madera. Even if he was from Madera, I would still wonder.

Then you have the Committee to Elect Vern Moss (the incumbent who is retiring) donating $5,000. Do we really want another Vern Moss? I would think not.

We need someone who I believe will look out for the people in District 2 and not for their big-money friends. Someone who will put District 2 needs and expectations before their own ambitions. Someone who isn’t just thinking about that $71,000 salary, but actually thinks about the people of District 2.

I believe that man is John Silva. I would urge all the voters of District 2 to support John Silva for Supervisor, District 2. He’s got my vote.

Ron Ogella,
Madera

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan seems like a nice person, although she has never been a judge. She is, however, the solicitor general of the United States, which means she knows something about looking the Supreme Court in the eye.

One doesn’t have to be a judge to be nominated, and even confirmed, for the Supreme Court. California’s own Earl Warren, who was the 14th chief justice, was three times elected governor of California before being appointed to the court by President Eisenhower. He had been district attorney for Alameda County, and in 1939 was elected attorney general of California. Warren attended Cal-Berkeley and its Boalt Hall Law School.

Warren also brought a little diversity into the court, something which Elena Kagan won’t do. Yes, she is a woman, and although President Obama, on nominating her, was quoted as saying she would represent an understanding of the law “as it affects the lives or ordinary people,” she is far from ordinary.

According to David Davenport of the Hoover Institution, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, she is a lawyer’s daughter who attended Princeton and Harvard, and who has spent her career at the University of Chicago, Harvard (where she was law school dean) and the White House.

She might be able to represent the views of the legal elite, but probably not common people.

But let’s get back to diversity. If Kagan is chosen to replace the retiring Justice John Paul Stevens, she will be contributing to less diversity than the court had before. Why is that? Stevens was the last person on the court who didn’t attend law school either at Yale or Harvard. Stevens attended Northwestern University Law School. The late Chief Justice William Rehnquist and retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor both went to Stanford. But all the others in recent years have been either Harvard or Yale graduates. What’s that all about?

I have a son, James, an intelligent little 3-year-old who does not talk. We have as many theories as to why he does not talk as he has had doctor’s appointments. James has some quirks and does fit on the autistic spectrum. We are grateful to God for the blessing and challenge that He has given us.

When he was 2, we began receiving speech therapy from the Madera County Office of Education and could not have been blessed with a better speech therapist, Torrie. Torrie’s knowledge and insightfulness allowed us to begin making progress early. The office continued monitoring and providing support to my family for a year.

When James turned 3, he began going to Gould Educational Center. He was placed in a classroom with other students that needed early intervention and specialized care. Once again, James was blessed with having a fantastic teacher, Nikki, who has a brother who is autistic, and her knowledge of strategies for helping James are personal as well as studied. Her classroom I have compared to others in the valley and out of state and Ms. Nikki’s is as good as it gets.

But what makes Gould a remarkable place is that the staff, from the custodians to the receptionist, the bus drivers to the principal, have created a community that understands the vision: To love and serve these kids with all their hearts.

Some of these students, like my son, look as average as any other kid. Others roll in with their wheel chairs; scars, deformities and you name it. I have been there enough to know that as they unload them off the buses, every child (no matter the child’s response) is greeted as if they were walking the red carpet. They clap, cheer, high five and quickly make this the special place it is.

We have met people with children similar to James who live in other counties, and they do not receive anywhere near the quality services we have been blessed with here in Madera. Gould is a beautiful facility that is well kempt and has equipment that the children need in order to progress. It is really a gem that I did not know we had here; but I am so glad we do.

I recently began asking questions about how Gould Educational Center became such a neat place, and I was told that it is largely in part from the guidance of Dr. Cecilia Massetti. All classes and programs for special-need students fall under her role as associate superintendent. Massetti went after the funds to modernize the facility, to bring it up to standard and to purchase the equipment that Gould desperately needed. Massetti utilizes current resources to have an on-staff nurse who is a resource for some of these medically fragile students as well as many families that don’t have easy access to medical care.

I am not usually one to endorse candidates and think political conversation can usually get you into more trouble than not. But if Massetti can oversee the entire Madera County Office of Education as well as she oversees special needs services in Madera County, she definitely will have my vote. Her vision and ability to make it happen are important qualities that we need in our leaders. But it is easy to see that Massetti’s ability to love and serve all the students in Madera County is the most important reason we should vote for her.

Tim Riche,
Madera

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

The other night I got home from work a little late, and Mrs. Doud was in bed. I snuck into the bedroom to see if she was awake, and she said “Hello, there my fine fellow,” or something like that. Then, she said, “Here have a seat.” When she said that, she patted the mattress.

I sat down, and I knew right away something was going on. The mattress didn’t feel the same way it had felt that morning when I had gotten out of bed. It was a new mattress.

The old mattress wasn’t very comfortable. It had started out as comfortable when we bought it a few years ago, but over the years, it began to feel more like a sack of baseballs than anything else.

Also, it was one of those mattresses that has some extra padding on top, and the padding had begun to bunch up in the middle. The bed was hard to make, because the mattress weighed about 500 pounds, or so it seemed.

Well, about a year ago, we began to talk about getting a new mattress, but the talk didn’t get very far. New mattresses cost a lot of money, and we have a cat to feed, which requires every extra cent.

But Mrs. Doud finally couldn’t take it any longer, and when the state tax return check came a few days ago, she rushed it down to the mattress store. And was able to pull a good trick on me.

I am getting used to the new mattress, but it isn’t all fun and games. I was used to sleeping a certain way to minimize the discomfort of the old mattress, but now that sleeping position — one arm this way, one leg that way, the hip over here — seems to work against comfort.

It gets better every day, though. I am working on some new sleeping positions that don’t hurt much at all. Comfort isn’t that far away.

Excuse me, now. I have to go home and go to bed.

I am disappointed in the City and County of Madera that they continue to push the Ellis Street Overcrossing plan. For the cost of building that bridge, so much more could be done for Madera.

The bridge funding is being paid for by the sales tax-generated funds of Measure T. The funds specifically dedicated to the Ellis bridge project from Measure T were estimated at $12 million. The remainder of the funds were to come from other sources such as developer fees and state and federal grants.

The State of California has declined to support this project with their additional monies, as the project does not meet their criteria for Tier 1 traffic relief. The project will not improve traffic access to the Highway 99 corridor. The Madera County Transportation Commission has decided to borrow an additional $8 to $12 million to cover the full $25 million dollars for this “necessary” bridge.

In Madera, we have bridges which cross both the railroad and the freeway at both ends of town. Perhaps we should look at improving the North/South corridors along the freeway rather than ways to cross it.

Sharon Road could become a freeway frontage road extending all the way to Avenue 17, giving the east side easy access to Avenue 17.

Golden State Boulevard could be widened and extended to Yeager for access to the Airport or even Falcon Drive, the same place the bridge is supposed to go.

Almond Avenue and Road 28 have already been improved for access to Avenue 13 and Avenue 12.

We need to pay attention to some of the communities to our north. The City of Modesto has these large and wide frontage roads which run along the freeway so that the traffic flow can get to the ingress and egress areas of the freeway easily. Some of their frontage roads have become industrial and commercial centers.
I challenge you to pull out a map and look at the Ellis Street Overcrossing and figure out why it makes sense and who would use it.

There will be no freeway access. It will go from a current farm and residential area to the airport. It makes much more sense to build a frontage road system. One bridge costs about $25 million, 2 miles of four-lane road may cost around $4 million. Which check would you sign?

At a time when budgets are decreasing and state funding has been pulled from the project, does it make sense to continue to push and spend money on this “traffic” project? They haven’t turned a shovel full of dirt yet, but the city and county act like it is too late to put the brakes on this money pit.

I think this may be Madera’s Field of Dreams. “Build it and they will come.” Who will come? Someone in the city probably knows who, but we citizens will be footing the bill.

Wally Nishimoto,
Madera

All comments are edited for length and content. Because of content or space limitations, some comments may not be published. More than one comment from the same person during the same week will normally not be published. Please limit calls to two minutes or less.

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A lady “commented on the mural at the police station on C Street. I hope it gets better than what it looks like right now. If it doesn’t, we did not get our money’s worth.”

A man who read a letter “regarding a lady in a gray convertible throwing litter out of her car. I just wish he would have turned around and made a citizen’s arrest. There’s a litter law (with a fine of) up to $1,000. I walk my dog every morning and take an extra bag to pick up trash. Just driving around I’ve never seen so much fast food trash. It’s a shame.”

Another man commented on the new Dog Park at Rotary Park. “I’ve driven by the park several times and I think I’ve seen one dog in it. Meanwhile the picnic areas are falling apart. Nice job, Madera.”

However, several citizens disagreed. One said, “I really enjoy the new dog park. I take my dog there as often as I can. I have made new friends and so has my dog.”

“Madera Speedway has some major problems,” said a man. “Wake up, Madera, before it is too late. The problem is the promoter. The Madera (District) Fair Board should move forward and cancel his contract. Low (race) car count, 300-400 fans when the stands hold 3,000 (and) ticket prices of $12-$20 doesn’t work in Madera.”

A man called “regarding the Madera National Little League Board of Directors. The vision is gone. It is time for the 15 board members to step down and let new directors take over. Where does the money go from the 24 teams, 12 players per team and the $50 they charge per player? What about the 50-50 raffle they do every night? The carnival? Nobody is accountable for the money.”

A woman “wanted to thank all the people in Madera who participated in the Relay For Life. It was a terrific event and we made a lot of money for cancer research. We had a lot of fun.”

Another lady had this to say about Relay. “In the article there were a lot of women mentioned that helped in the terrific event. And, of course, they did a lot of the planning and were very active running special areas. But you failed to mention Doug Row, and Leon Emo. Between the both of them they made sure everything went perfectly. From Leon turning on the power at six in the morning so we could have fresh coffee, and giving hugs for money which he gave to the Relay, to Doug, who seemed to be everywhere for the whole 24-hour event. Thank you.”

A woman responded to last week’s caller who said she observed a “Madera Unified School District official lambasting teachers.” This week’s caller said, “unfortunately, I have come to learn that such talk is commonplace from district officials and many board members. The citizens should be appalled at these officials who blatantly disrespect teachers and the commitment they make to our children. The children of the community will be the ones that suffer the consequences.”

“Good morning,” said a man who “read Louis Aguilar’s commentary in the Wednesday, May 5, Tribune.” The man said he “was opposed to this proposition (Prop. 16). The basic reason is that it is very difficult to get the legislature to vote two-thirds. Getting the population to agree on two-thirds of anything is almost impossible.”

A woman was “very disappointed with Leon Emo’s column on Friday (May 7). For years he has written wonderful words about one of his mothers and even his mother-in-law, but this year just the regular column. I’ll keep reading, but I was disappointed this year.”

“The curbside (trash) pick-up is a very good deal,” said a woman. “Yet, there’s not enough time to prepare for it. We have only a week and that is not enough time to clean closets and garages. Also, it is the day after Mother’s Day.”

A man called “about (soccer players) taking their soccer games to Town and Country Park. Since they put the dog park there at Rotary Park they are taking everything to Town and Country. They’re going to end up messing up that park like they did Rotary Park. They can take it to Millview. Please leave Town and Country alone. Leave it all the baseball games, not the soccer games.”

A woman had “a comment about your Mother’s Day ad on the front page of Saturday’s Madera Tribune. I don’t care how much money you get from your businesses for advertising. The front page is not a place for an ad like this, or any ad. I think it’s really tacky and offensive.”

A hard-to-understand female voice said, “The National Day of Prayer and (local) breakfast is a testimony that prayer is a big part in the belief of Jesus Christ. The audience was so rapt with the speakers you could have heard a pin drop.”

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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24 hours a day by calling 674-4478, or by visiting maderatribuneredline.com on the Internet.

The May 11 article, “Kidwell explains assessor’s job” contained an error that I need to bring to your attention. It states, ‘“In fact,’ said Kidwell, ‘real property values will decrease throughout the state this year, 23 percent by law.’” While all real property throughout the state will, by law, have values lowered by the same factor, that factor is 0.23 percent, not 23 percent, which would be 100 times more than what the law requires this year.

This is the number commonly referred to as the “2 percent inflation factor” required by Proposition 13, where all real property is adjusted by a maximum of 2 percent each year. There have been five years where the CPI adjustment has been less than 2 percent. This is the first year since the passage of Proposition 13 where the CPI adjustment has actually been negative.

On top of the 0.23 percent decrease in value, my office is currently reviewing all properties for a potential Proposition 8 decline in value adjustment. Prop. 8 says that whenever the market value of a property is less than the Prop 13 value, the market value shall be enrolled. In 2008, we lowered about 1,500 values under Prop. 8. In 2009 we lowered more than 15,000 values under Prop. 8. This year there will be far more properties which qualify for the reduced values, and my staff are currently reviewing the values of thousands and thousands of properties to determine which qualify for a reduction and which do not. Since the work will not be completed until the end of June, however, I cannot say exactly how many properties we will adjust.

Prop. 13 continues to protect the homeowners and other property owners who won’t qualify for the Prop. 8 declines in value, because Prop. 13 continues to limit the amount of increase in value, due to inflation, that a value will increase for tax purposes.

For example, a home which was valued at $25,000 in 1975 will have a current assessed value of $47,468 today, whereas its market value was probably around $400,000 at the peak of the real estate mania, and its market value is probably in the range of about $200,000 today. Under the law, if the same persons own that house today as did in 1975, they’d pay taxes on the $47,468 assessed value, or about $475 in property tax. That is the protection of Prop. 13. And it continues to protect all of the new purchasers of property today, just as it did then, after their new assessed value is determined.

Tom Kidwell, Madera County assessor

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

Two initiative propositions on the June 8 ballot, Prop. 16 and Prop. 17, are designed to benefit more or less two companies — sponsors Pacific Gas & Electric and Mercury Insurance.

Prop. 16 would make it harder for municipalities to establish publicly owned power companies, while

Prop. 17 would allow insurers to raid each other’s customer bases when those customers change insurers, but also would allow insurers to raise rates on customers who have lapses in coverage.

You can’t blame PG&E for wanting to make it harder for local governments to form their own power companies. Almost all public power companies are able to charge their customers less than investor-owned companies, and when a publicly owned company operates adjacent to an investor-owned company, there is pressure on the investor-owned company to keep its rates lower than it would if there were no such competition.

Prop. 16 would require a 2/3 or greater majority to prevail in an election before a municipality could operate its own power company. That’s the same majority required in the legislature for the state to pass a budget.

PG&E is saying that the proposition is for taxpayer protection. Actually, it is for PG&E’s protection. Otherwise, why would the company be willing to spend $35 million to get it passed?

As for Prop. 17, Mercury Insurance has donated $10 million toward its passage, which also makes one wonder who will benefit from it if it becomes law.

The public really doesn’t need either one of these propositions to become law.
Proposition 15, referred to the public by the Legislature, would (1) levy a fee on lobbyists, then (2) use the money to help candidates for secretary of state fund their campaigns. Huh? It also would repeal the state’s ban on public financing of campaigns. If this passes, look for the lawsuits to fly.